SKITTLES Gets Uncomfortably Soft with Kangarooman, Jellyfish Massages and Real-World Puppetry

SKITTLES takes another expedition into the weird and wonderful, debuting ‘SKITTLES Gummies’ in a campaign conceived with Mars and TBWA\Chiat\Day.

The three films produced by Epoch are directed by Carl Sundemo and aim to reimagine what ‘soft’ means when every gummy claims such a trait. Reconsidering what ‘soft’ can feel like, we’re taken through exaggerated dreamlike sequences inviting us to contemplate everything from the ‘soft’ pouch of a human kangaroo to receiving a massage from the ‘soft’ tentacle of a jellyfish.

The brand needed a disruptive idea in order to win what group creative directors Katie Bero and Brian Culp call “its rightful share of the exploding gummy category". They add, “To make ourselves stand out in a saturated gummy market, we pushed past ‘softness’ and into the realm of the uncomfortably soft.”

The creatives say the randomness of the scenes is exactly what makes the moments feel inherently SKITTLES. “Visually absurd without the world around them acknowledging that anything about this is off.” What they also enjoy is how far these scenarios are from the traditional associations with the word 'soft'.

Working with director Carl Sundemo, who is known for his practical effects, meant everything could be created in the real world. “So yes, the man kangaroo, the jellyfish, the balloon dog… everything you see is all practical and being moved by puppeteers,” the creatives tell LBB. “And yes, the teen boys are really in the costume’s pouch.”

Taken as a whole, the campaign sits central to SKITTLES’ core identity and signature brand storytelling. “Because it’s SKITTLES, creating a straightforward campaign saying, ‘SKITTLES gummies have a softer texture than other gummies’ was never going to be enough," explain Katie and Brian.

Reflecting on the making of the project, they do have one admission to make. "It's been brought to our attention that male kangaroos do not have pouches.

“In our minds, they also didn’t have the ability to speak or have male pattern baldness, so obviously certain liberties were taken, and we hope you’ll forgive this one detail of oversight.”

It’s a nice continuation for the agency whose knack for creating all things wacky for the brand has sustained momentum over the years. The most recent iteration of such crazed ideation follows February’s Super Bowl experiential stunt featuring none other than Elijah Wood.

Built for gen z, the campaign uses the soft texture of the ‘SKITTLES Gummies’ to take gen z-inspired ‘soft-life’ relaxation moments to a nonsensical extreme, and will be rolling out across linear, CTV, OLV, and social.